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STAT apparently OK with coming off bench ~ Aiming for Xmas return.

This one'll go in the STAT thread after it's had time to be replied to and considered.

Amar'e Stoudemire would accept a role as the New York Knicks' sixth man if asked of him, two sources with knowledge of Stoudemire's thinking told ESPNNewYork.com.

"All he cares about right now is helping the team and winning," one source, who has been around Stoudemire regularly in recent weeks, said. "He'd be fine with coming off the bench if that's what they want."

Stoudemire hasn't spoken with reporters since suffering a left knee injury in the preseason. He's been rehabilitating his knee following arthroscopic surgery for the past four weeks and is expected to miss at least another two weeks.

There has been speculation about what role Stoudemire will play once he returns.

Many believe Stoudemire would be a better fit coming off the bench for coach Mike Woodson's team. Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony have had a tough time developing cohesion on offense -- the Knicks have a losing record while the two stars are in the same starting lineup.

Both Anthony and Stoudemire are effective operating in isolation around the elbow, which is just one reason why they haven't had success while sharing the floor together.

Additionally, Stoudemire and Knicks starting center Tyson Chandler are seen by some as a bad match when paired together.

Chandler is the Knicks' primary screener on the pick-and-roll, a role Stoudemire has thrived throughout his career.

Woodson has been evasive when asked about Stoudemire's role once he returns. Woodson has said in the past his players wouldn't lose their starting roles because of injury. But Woodson also hasn't committed to re-inserting Stoudemire into the starting lineup.

"I'm going to address that when we get to that point," Woodson said last week. "Right now, I'm just taking it a day at a time and work the guys we have in uniform."

A source close to Stoudemire who has visited with the veteran power forward recently said Stoudemire wants to help the Knicks, who were 9-4 entering play Wednesday, and doesn't want to affect any chemistry the team has established.

"He just wants to win," the source says. "He sees how well they're playing and just wants to help. He'll be fine with whatever they want to do."

Woodson may choose to bring Stoudemire off the bench initially to help him work his way back into game shape. One league source says the Knicks are hesitant to take Jason Kidd out of the starting lineup to make room for Stoudemire.

Stoudemire, a 10-year veteran, is coming off a down year in which he averaged 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game -- the lowest full-season totals since his rookie season.

He worked diligently over the summer to regain his form, spending time with Hakeem Olajuwon to incorporate post moves into his offensive repertoire. Stoudemire was confident in the preseason he could bounce back this season. But he suffered a knee injury that originally was thought to be a bone bruise, but later diagnosed as a ruptured cyst in his left knee.

Stoudemire's left knee has been an issue in the past. He underwent microfracture surgery in October 2005, but bounced back well from the procedure.

One NBA team doctor told ESPNNewYork.com that Stoudemire was the best example of a player regaining his form after microfracture surgery.

Still, the procedure can be a red flag for teams. Stoudemire's contract with the Knicks -- five years, $100 million -- is uninsured because of his history of knee issues.

Ian Begley is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

This is huge news if so.. It'll show he's more committeed to team and winning than showing he's still a "star" or his stats. He might even buy into defense..

Absolutely. If this works, I'll be ecstatic. Definitely a step in the right direction for this team if he takes a step back and realises he'll not be traded anywhere from the league's most unforgiving city if you under-perform.

Great news.This just means that STAT is ready to put his ego aside and focus on winning.

But in terms of the teams' rotation, I don't expect STAT's bench role to make much of a difference in terms of the team gelling together. This move is all about improving the team's offensive continuity and flow by limiting the time that STAT and Melo are together on the court. However, I expect STAT to average 32-35 mpg once he's fully recovered, and Melo will also get his 32-35 mpg which means that there'll be only 13-15 mins of game time where they are not playing together. This is the case unless Woody decides to lower the minutes of either STAT or Melo,which is very unlikely. In short, I just don't see the logic to the idea of Amar'e in a bench role for the Knicks. Can someone explain to me why this would be a good move??

saw an article that said Amare would be okay coming off the bench. we'd be so scary.

starting

Felton
Shump
Brewer
Melo
Chandler

Bench

Kidd
Smith
Novak
Amare/Rasheed
Rasheed/ Amare

that bench is so balanced with Defense and Offense. Good spacing, amare will thrive.

Saw that same article and this is exactly they way I would split it up. I might keep Kidd in the starting lineup and move Shump tho. Right now the starters are more defensive minded (Shump, Brewer, Chandler) and bench more offense(Kidd, Smith, Novak, Amar'e). With that switch I expect big things and they can only be beat by themselves.

Starters:
Felton
Kidd
Brewer
Melo
Chandler

Bench:
Pablo
JR
Shump
Amar'e
Sheed

Then you still have Novak, Camby, KT, Cope, and White on deck. With a team that deep we should be one of the most well rested teams going into the playoffs.

Great news.This just means that STAT is ready to put his ego aside and focus on winning.

But in terms of the teams' rotation, I don't expect STAT's bench role to make much of a difference in terms of the team gelling together. This move is all about improving the team's offensive continuity and flow by limiting the time that STAT and Melo are together on the court. However, I expect STAT to average 32-35 mpg once he's fully recovered, and Melo will also get his 32-35 mpg which means that there'll be only 13-15 mins of game time where they are not playing together. This is the case unless Woody decides to lower the minutes of either STAT or Melo,which is very unlikely. In short, I just don't see the logic to the idea of Amar'e in a bench role for the Knicks. Can someone explain to me why this would be a good move??

Also, does this mean Melo will be the permanent starting PF?

Keeping Melo as starting PF maintains this effective lineup against 90% of the teams we face in tact. The bench will then have 2 primary scorers in JR and Amare. The hope is that our bench will be just as effective as the starters... no drop off!

Obviously, Melo and Amare will play together but maybe its with Sheed at 4 and amare at the 5 playing center and benefitting from pick and rolls. Either way, I can't wait to see what this team does at full strength.